Chapter 8: First Hunter Encounter (The Psychological Weapon)
[The Stalking Shadow]
The industrial sprawl was a maze of rusted metal, cold concrete, and echoing silence—the perfect battlefield for a Necromancer. Officer Kang (Rank D-74), fueled by stubbornness and the faint, undeniable evidence of the Indigo Trace, was hunting alone. He had been ordered to return to Central Command, but the idea of the elusive Dark Mage escaping—and taking the credit for the discovery with him—was unbearable.
Kang moved methodically, his low-level scanner sweeping the air for the unique, dark mana signature he had detected near the subway tunnel. He was armed with a standard-issue mana-revolver and backed by two decades of street-level Hunter experience. He was expecting a fight against a desperate, perhaps panicked, juvenile criminal.
He did not expect to be the prey.
Rudraunsh, cloaked and silent, was positioned three stories above Kang, perched on a rusted gantry walkway. He used the newly refined senses provided by his Undying Authority to track the Hunter's movements, feeling the faint, predictable thrum of Kang's D-Rank Light Mana.
He is persistent, Rudraunsh observed. But his confidence is his weakness.
Rudraunsh reached into his Immortal Sepulchre and silently drew forth one of his new guardians. A single Steelbone Warrior materialized instantly, its form a masterpiece of obsidian density and terrifying silence. Its heavy frame made no sound as it stepped onto the gantry beside him.
"Directive: Interception and Isolation," Rudraunsh commanded in a mental whisper. "Show him power that cannot be fought. Do not inflict physical damage."
The Steelbone Warrior vanished, dissolving into a stream of shadow-like mana that flowed down the steel supports of the gantry. It was a skill Rudraunsh hadn't realized he possessed: the ability to command movement not just through physical action, but through shadowed mana transfer. The warrior would rematerialize silently, exactly where Rudraunsh willed it.
[The Test of Terror]
Kang reached a large, derelict loading bay, his scanner blinking rapidly. The Indigo Trace was strong here, radiating from a corner piled high with decayed wood and broken machinery. He gripped his revolver, his heart pounding with the thrill of the solo catch.
"Dark Mage! I know you're here! Surrender now and you'll face leniency!" Kang shouted, trying to sound more authoritative than he felt.
The only reply was the echoing silence. Kang took a cautious step toward the debris pile.
And then, he heard it. Not a roar, or a battle cry, but a sound that broke his focus instantly: the heavy, rhythmic SCRAPE of metal on concrete, dragging closer, then stopping.
Kang whirled around. Standing ten meters behind him, where moments ago there had been only an empty corridor, was a figure that defied his Hunter textbooks.
It was not a flimsy skeleton; it was an armor-plated, obsidian warrior nearly six feet tall, its frame radiating a power that felt cold, vast, and impossible for a low-level Necromancer.
Kang's D-Rank Hunter instinct took over. He raised his mana-revolver and fired three rapid shots. The slugs were imbued with piercing Light Mana—enough to shatter the armor of any standard D-Rank monster.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The mana slugs struck the Steelbone Warrior's chest plate with deafening force. The impact threw the obsidian figure back two steps, leaving three deep, smoking craters in its polished surface.
Kang grinned fiercely. "See? Not so tough!"
Then, the psychological warfare began.
The Steelbone Warrior didn't fall. It merely stood, its head tilted slightly, as if confused by the noise. The three deep craters on its chest began to move. Obsidian dust and dark mana flowed instantly from the core of its being, knitting the fractures together. The damage didn't slowly heal; it was violently, sickeningly unmade. Within three seconds, the obsidian surface was smooth, seamless, and utterly perfect.
Kang's gun hand dropped. He was paralyzed. He had faced monsters, but he had never faced immortality.
[The Breaking Point]
Rudraunsh watched from above, his heart rate steady. He felt the huge mana drain from the continuous repair, but the visual was worth the cost.
"Show him what the Undying Authority demands," Rudraunsh commanded.
The Steelbone Warrior took one heavy step forward, its obsidian frame scraping the concrete again. It reached out, not to strike, but to grab the heavy metal support beam beside Kang.
With a grinding shriek, the Warrior ripped the thick beam from its foundation and slammed it against the wall, creating a deafening BOOM that shook the derelict structure. The message was clear: I can destroy the environment, but you cannot destroy me.
Kang backed away, frantically reloading his weapon. The logic of his Hunter training was collapsing. Killing the Necromancer was the only solution, but where was he?
He fired four more shots, aiming for the head this time. The Steelbone Warrior simply took the shots, its skull reforming faster than the bullets could cool.
"You… you're endless!" Kang stammered, terror replacing courage. "What are you? A Catastrophe?"
Rudraunsh didn't allow him a second to think. He deployed his final, devastating move.
He mentally dismissed the first Steelbone Warrior back to the Immortal Sepulchre.
The obsidian warrior vanished in a puff of cold, indigo smoke.
Immediately, Rudraunsh summoned the second Steelbone Warrior—a functionally identical twin—and materialized it five feet directly behind the now-panicked Kang.
Kang felt the profound chill of the materialization behind him and spun around, firing blindly. His shot went wide. He was now facing an identical, fresh, unharmed warrior.
The sheer psychological toll of seeing a target instantly vanish and be replaced by a seemingly new, perfect threat was overwhelming. Kang was faced with the illusion of an infinite army that could materialize anywhere.
Kang dropped his revolver. The weapon of law, of order, was useless against a power that defied both.
"No… no more," Kang whispered, sinking to his knees. "This is not a Hunter-class threat. This is... impossible."
[A Seed of Morality and Trust]
Rudraunsh watched the Hunter break. The mission was complete. He had neutralized the threat not by killing, but by implanting an absolute, paralyzing fear that the Stellar Halo could not train out of him. Kang would report the impossibility, and the bureaucracy Sera had seeded would ensure his career ended in shame and silence.
Before dismissing the second Warrior, Rudraunsh felt a strange impulse—a residue of the transmigrated soul's inherent sense of justice. He approached the kneeling Hunter, remaining cloaked in shadow, and spoke in a low, heavily distorted voice.
"I am not the enemy of the world. I am merely a necessary force. Do not seek me again, Officer Kang. You will only find oblivion."
He dismissed the second Warrior. The silence that followed was broken only by Kang's ragged breathing.
Rudraunsh swiftly slipped away, using the shadows and tunnels to escape the industrial zone. He knew that the Stellar Halo would eventually send a higher-ranked Hunter, someone whose courage and mana pool could withstand the shock. But for now, he was safe.
As he walked, he pulled out the burner phone. He didn't send a victory report to Sera; he sent a question—a small, personal test of their shared morality.
> [R.K.] : He is neutralized. No harm done.
> [S.S.] : (Response, 2 seconds later) : Excellent work. Clean and quiet. The cost of one Hunter's career is nothing compared to your security. I've already submitted the internal stress report for him.
> [R.K.] : You expected me not to kill him.
> [S.S.] : (Longer delay) You had the chance to kill Minho and Jisoo. You didn't. You are a Necromancer, Rudraunsh, but you are not a murderer. That is why I chose you. You are necessary, not evil. Come to the main safe house. We need to discuss your next rank ascension.
>
Rudraunsh felt a deep, unexpected warmth settle in his chest. It wasn't the heat of mana or the cold of the Dao, but something closer to trust. Sera had not only predicted his non-lethal action but valued it. She didn't just see a weapon; she saw a partner whose moral compass aligned with hers, even in the darkness.
He increased his pace toward the safe house. The alliance was not just political anymore; it was personal.